Marvel Confirms Paul Rudd Is ‘Ant-Man’

After months of rumors, and a few days where the news was all but confirmed
, Marvel has made it official that Rudd is the man to lead director Edgar Wright’s “Ant-Man,” hitting theaters in 2015. In a press release, Marvel said that Rudd represents “the studio’s desire to cast actors that bring several dimensions to its onscreen heroes.”

“When Edgar Wright came to us with the idea of Paul Rudd, we felt a huge sense of relief because the first step in creating any Marvel Studios film is finding the right star,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in a statement. “We knew early on that we had found the right person in Paul. When he not only agreed to do it but became as enthusiastic as any actor we’d ever met with about doing the work, we knew we’d found the right guy.”

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Feige continued, “We couldn’t be more excited for our audiences to see what he’s going to do to bring Ant-Man to life.”

With Rudd’s casting official, a few new questions arise. Chief among them is … well, who is Rudd playing? Sure, he’s Ant-Man — but which one? Popular opinion has pegged Rudd as Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man and the inventor of the hero’s size-changing technology. But others believe he’ll play Scott Lang, a small-time criminal who steals the Ant-Man suit and becomes an accidental hero.

In their announcement, Marvel never revealed whether it’s Pym, Lang or someone else in the title role. Indeed, they mention that “the film’s plot is being kept under wraps,” so it might be some time before any further specifics emerge.

Rudd’s “Ant-Man” won’t hit the big screen until July 31, 2015 (almost three months after the release of “The Avengers: Age of Ultron”), but he can be seen in theaters right now reprising his role as field reporter Brian Fantana in “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.”

What do you make of Rudd as Ant-Man? Let us know in the comments below!